Quick Takes: News You May Have Missed

Posted on: August 18th, 2010 at 11:49AM

   Days after President Obama came out in support of a plan to build an Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero, the controversial project has received yet another high-profile endorsement – this one from the chief of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.     “We have to build the mosque as you are allowed [...]

Quick Takes: News You May Have Missed

Posted on: August 11th, 2010 at 10:56AM

   Will the Justice Department prosecute associates of President Obama who are organizing flotillas and marches in support of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip?     That question is being asked by pundits as several of Obama’s associates are participating in efforts to end Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza – a blockade that is legal according to [...]

Quick Takes: News You May Have Missed

Posted on: August 4th, 2010 at 10:56AM

   The working assumption in the Israel Defense Forces is that allies of the Hizbullah terrorist organization started this week’s northern border clashes with Israel, resulting in the death of Lt. Col. Dov Harari. At least three Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist were also killed.    Sources in the IDF told this column they fear [...]

Quick Takes: News You May Have Missed

Posted on: July 28th, 2010 at 12:10PM

   Israeli Mossad chief Meir Dagan paid a secret visit to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks to discuss the threat of Iran, according to informed Arab security sources.     The security sources did not disclose specifics of the discussions except to say the topic was Iran, which is accused of building a nascent nuclear program. [...]

Quick Takes: News You May Have Missed

Posted on: July 21st, 2010 at 10:02AM

   The Palestinian Authority expects “big movement” toward taking over most of the areas that would encompass a future Palestinian state by the end of the year, senior PA officials told this column.     The PA officials said the U.S. has been negotiating the borders of a future Palestinian state that would see Israel eventually [...]

Quick Takes: News You May Have Missed

Posted on: July 14th, 2010 at 4:13PM

   President Obama extracted a guarantee from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that on the ground Jewish construction in most of the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem will be frozen for months to come, according to a senior Palestinian Authority negotiator.     Last November, under intense U.S. pressure, Netanyahu agreed to a temporary halt to [...]

Quick Takes: News You May Have Missed

Posted on: July 7th, 2010 at 11:08AM

   CNN’s senior Middle East affairs editor yesterday professed her “respect” for an anti-American Islamic extremist who was an ideological guide to the Hizbullah terror group and who was accused of masterminding a 1983 attack on U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut that killed 241 Americans.     “Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammed [...]

Quick Takes: News You May Have Missed

Posted on: June 30th, 2010 at 9:23AM

   The Obama administration is set to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ease the blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip during the premier’s visit to Washington this coming week, according to Israeli diplomatic sources.     Separately, a senior Palestinian Authority negotiator said the Obama administration has taken a harder line against Israel on [...]

Quick Takes: News You May Have Missed

Posted on: June 23rd, 2010 at 8:50AM

   The U.S. extracted concessions from Israel in exchange for American opposition to the establishment of a United Nations commission to investigate Israel’s commando raid of a flotilla earlier this month that resulted in the deaths of nine violent activists, this column has learned.     Separately, an official from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said [...]

Quick Takes: News You May Have Missed

Posted on: June 16th, 2010 at 9:58AM

   The Egyptian government believes July will be a decisive month that may see an Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to a senior Egyptian security official speaking to this column.     The official said Egypt already has implemented security measures that take into account an Israeli strike against Iran within the next [...]